What is Your Biggest Mistake in the Hobby?

[RichReef]

Reading forums. Over thinking. Chemical filtration.

 

[Treefer32]

biggest mistake. Reusing 5 year old equipment that had been in cold storage (during our below zero winters). Heater electricuted my tank, Old MP40s lasted about 6 months before they too died. Everything just quit working from a previous tank. Lost 16 fish due to a heater going bad in the first 8 months of starting up the tank... If I had just bought a new heater everything would have been good..

 

[dontbuyxenia]

probably dosing blind or chasing numbers instead of a religious water change regiment.

 

[Kongar]

Lol. My wife likes plants so that’s how we price match each other.

Plants can be super expensive - especially when doing outdoor gardens/bushes. Can easily trump a reef tank in cost.

 

[KStatefan]

Impulse purchases

 

[olonmv]

Plants can be super expensive - especially when doing outdoor gardens/bushes. Can easily trump a reef tank in cost.

I concur. In my defense…..my stuff doesn’t die once a year when it freezes over lol.

 

[Fatmike92]

Thinking that I could keep four triggers in a mixed reef.

been there!

 

[Sdot]

Not buying the right equipment the 1st time around.... Total double whammy. You end up buying it anyway but hate that you wasted money to cheap out in the 1st place.

 

[Fatmike92]

Starting a monti garden tank before I knew that MEN was a thing (early 80s). Lost a lot of montis and almost quit over it. Took me a long time to figure out what that white stuff was.

what white stuff are you talking about?

 

[NowGlazeIT]

Purposely not dipping coral from someone else’s established reef. I thought my tank could use the bio diversity, now my tank is run and ruled by red planera flatworms

 

[rmorris_14]

Buying a second hand stocked tank, inheriting all their issues .

 

[Lyss]

My biggest mistake so far was about 4-ish months ago -- not checking the calibration on my refractometer. I lost corals

 

[olonmv]

Not buying the right equipment the 1st time around.... Total double whammy. You end up buying it anyway but hate that you wasted money to cheap out in the 1st place.

This one too. I initially thought. I get 3 Red Sea test kits for $50. Why would someone spend $50 on a single Hanna checker? Quickly realized……color matching is for the birds.

 

[Falc!]

Rushing. Rushing cycle, rushing stocking, rushing equipment rushing on coral. Rushing rushing has always been my biggest regret and the hardest thing for me

 

[Karen00]

Getting comfortable not testing and assuming religious water changes were enough.

it cost me losing my favorite coral (a torch my daughter took the time to go on her own to my fav LFS and purchase) I was gutted.

These are the ones that never leave you. I'm sorry for your loss.

 

[i cant think]

Going for a CBB and not a Forcipiger Longirostris. CBBs have beautiful colours but man the yellows are hard to beat with forcipiger.

 

[flashsmith]

Buying a tank and realizing all over again why I got out 25 years ago. I now have 3 tanks....

 

[olonmv]

These are the ones that never leave you. I'm sorry for your loss.

Thank you. It was special to me and when my daughter came home from college to visit she asked where it was. I told her what had happened and her reaction was meh. Lol. Kids are butts.

 

[Karen00]

Thank you. It was special to me and when my daughter came home from college to visit she asked where it was. I told her what had happened and her reaction was meh. Lol. Kids are butts.

At least that was her reaction. That might've made the gutting you were feeling a bit easier to deal with. ;-)

 

[i cant think]

Also, I think my other big mistake is worrying too much. I worry a TON when it comes to my reef tanks. I mean I’m worrying about my nearly added griessinger goby being in the sump but I know it hasn’t left the sandbed from what I’ve seen. So for now it’s a mystery. Actually that reminds me I should probably go grab some mesh to cover my overflow with!